[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4746]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     TRIBUTE TO THURMAN ADAMS, JR.

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to the 
Honorable Thurman G. Adams, Jr., Delaware's longest serving State 
Senator.
  Senator Adams was first elected to Delaware's 19th senatorial 
district in Sussex County in 1972. He served as senate majority leader 
from 1999 to 2003, when he was elected President Pro Tempore of the 
senate by his colleagues.
  When I was Governor of Delaware, I worked closely with Thurman on 
many issues. He serves as chairman of the Senate Executive Committee, 
which considers gubernatorial and judicial appointments. Thurman has a 
keen understanding of the important role Delaware plays as a worldwide 
corporate center and has been a consistent champion of Delaware's 
judiciary. Thurman has also been a strong advocate of public safety 
issues, sponsoring legislation to establish Delaware's ``Enhanced 911'' 
emergency telephone system. As owner and president of his own feed and 
grain agribusiness, T.G. Adams, and Son, Inc., Thurman has worked for 
the interests of Delaware's farming and business communities. He is a 
leader in such issues as highway and local roadway improvements, 
education accountability, and the growth of Delaware Technical and 
Community College's Owens Campus in Georgetown.
  Thurman has a long history of civic and community service. Prior to 
being elected to public office, he served as chairman of the Governor's 
Highway Safety Committee and a member of the Delaware State Highway 
Commission. Active in his community, he has held such positions as 
director of Milford Memorial Hospital and the Medical Center of 
Delaware, director of the Baltimore Trust Company for 27 years, 
president of Harrington Raceway, chairman of the Union United Methodist 
Church Administrative Board, and president of the Eastern Shore Grain 
Dealers Association.
  The recipient of awards too numerous to list, Thurman was most 
recently awarded the Liberty Bell Award, presented by the Delaware 
State Bar Association in recognition of significant contributions to 
the community by a nonattorney, and the Silver Good Citizenship Award 
of the Delaware Chapter of the National Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution. He also received the University of Delaware's 
Medal of Fame Distinction and the ``Wall of Fame'' Award.
  As his record shows, Senator Adams has a strong commitment to the 
State of Delaware. Born and raised in Bridgeville, he attended 
Bridgeville High and later graduated from the University of Delaware. 
He returned to Bridgeville where he built a successful business and 
raised his family. Thurman was a devoted husband to his wife Hilda, to 
whom he was married to for nearly 50 years. Senator and Mrs. Adams 
raised three wonderful children whom any parent would be proud to call 
their own. No stranger to tragedy, Thurman lost his beloved wife to 
cancer in 2002 several years after the death of their son Brent. 
Despite these heartbreaks, Senator Adams remains devoted to his 
children, seven grandsons and three great-grandchildren.
  I have known Thurman Adams for many years. On a personal note, I 
remember fondly stopping by their summer home for lunch following the 
annual Fourth of July parade in Bethany Beach and enjoying immensely 
food and fellowship with him and his family. I can also attest to his 
expert egg-tossing skill, having been at the receiving end of his 
smoothly delivered toss at the Delaware State Fair Governor's Day 
celebration. We have enjoyed many times together both personally and 
professionally, and we have shared times of deep sorrow, as well.
  I am proud to congratulate my longtime friend and colleague on 
reaching this impressive milestone. The people of Delaware, and 
especially residents of the 19th District, are certainly well-served 
and fortunate to have been represented by such a man as Thurman Adams. 
Delaware is a far better place in which to live and work because of his 
stewardship and his leadership.

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